MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

7/19 Cubs acquire Germano

After the Cubs beat the Marlins on Thursday to improve to 14-5 since June 25, Jeff Baker apparently joked that the players expect to add pieces and be buyers, not sellers, at the Trade Deadline. On Thursday, the Cubs did just that, acquiring right-handed pitcher Justin Germano from the Red Sox for cash considerations. Right-handed pitcher Jairo Asencio was designated for assignment to make room on the roster. Germano, 29, was expected to be available Friday in St. Louis when the Cubs open a three-game series. However, Casey Coleman, who was to start Thursday for Triple-A Iowa, was scratched and will be in St. Louis in case Germano can’t make it.

Germano’s contract was selected by the Red Sox on July 4 and he threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings in relief on July 7 against the Yankees before being designated for assignment on July 13. The Cubs are Germano’s fifth Major League team. He has pitched for the Padres (2004, 2007-08), Reds (2006), Indians (2010-11) and Red Sox (2012). At Triple-A Pawtucket, Germano was 9-4 with a 2.40 ERA in 17 appearances, including 16 starts.

Asencio, who was claimed off waivers from the Indians on June 1, had a 3.07 ERA in 12 big league appearances with the Cubs.

i know this comes from someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about but I think Dempster wants one more start at Wrigley. Or that might just be me wanting him to start one more time. Having a proper goodbye to Chicago would be nice.

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